Desert's avatar
by thebladeofchaos
Summary: a young man from the country of Beignion lives a life of peace and solitude in Daein, but when he meets the young leader of the dawn brigade, all of that changes. FE: Radiant Dawn fiction
1. memories

Hello all, thought I'd say hello, just to get off to a good start

Hello all, thought I'd say hello, just to get off to a good start.

I'm doing another Fan Fic, to try and make up for a disaster of mine.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the fire emblem games, intelligent systems does, I only own Alexander and changes to this story, Anyway, without much more Ado, on to the first of a new story

* * *

_On the continent of Tellius, the land is divided between the Humans, known as Beroc, and the Laguz, a people who can take the form of lions, hawks, crows, even dragons._

_In the north of this continent lies the country of Crimea, a Beroc civilisation, three years ago, her neighbour, Daein, invaded, lead by its ruler, mad king Ashnard, it became known as the mad king's war._

_But Thanks to a heroic band of mercenaries, the war was ended, the result, Daein's defeat, everyone banded together to help rebuild Crimea, with a new Queen at its head._

_Daein, however, was left to the Beroc empire of Beignion, seeing as though it had owned the countries in the past and Crimea had not enough resources to claim it._

_Now, under the whips of their new rulers, the people of Daein suffer, with heavy taxes and forced labour camps, a group of freedom fighters or rebels, depending on your point of view, known as the Dawn Brigade has risen to fight back against the rulers._

_Led by the silver haired maiden, Micaiah, along with fellow freedom fighters, Sothe, a veteran from the mad king's war, Nolan, an experienced fighter, Leonardo, a skilled archer, and Edward, a young aspiring swordsman, she managed to escape the pursuing enemy and help out the people at the same time._

_Recruiting people to their cause as they went around the country, they fought various battles._

_While tales of the Dawn Brigade circles round, there is one who has never heard of them._

Chapter one: Memories.

_A young boy was walking through a dead forest with his father; the boy had brown spiky hair, blue eyes and was wearing leather clothes. His father was dressed in red plate mail, the Beignion red army colours with a lance and a shield on his back._

_The young boy pointed at some old ruins in the forest_

"_Father…"_

"_Good work, Alexander"_

_The scene then blurred out, refocusing in a stone chamber, Alexander was up against a wall, his father helping him up._

"_Are you ok"_

"_Been worse"_

_The scene then blurred again, changing to the father of the boy with his Lance ready, pointing to a statue that had come to life._

"_RUN!" he ordered Alexander_

"_But…" the boy started_

"_Just Go!"_

He woke up from the dream, or was it a nightmare, that incident had been haunting him since for 4 years now with no let up. He had left Beignion that Day, leaving his mother behind as he couldn't bear to see her crying over his father's death, blaming himself for it. He decided to travel north towards Daein to start a life as a hermit, taking two swords, some food and water, a vulnerary and the clothes he was wearing. Some how he had managed to avoid becoming involved in the mad king's war, and then isolated himself from society entirely, eating whatever he hunted and getting water from nearby streams.

He had trained himself to use two swords, occasionally fighting some bandits for some practise, nothing too fancy, but it was something, he had managed to build his own house and gather a few things for it, like a bed, a few books, chairs and something to hold his water supplies.

He had looked at the back of his right hand the day after that fateful incident, seeing a weird mark on it. He resolved to keep some gloves on to hide it from people, sure he didn't know what it was, but he couldn't be too careful.

He went outside his little hut, looking out towards the desert horizon, hoping for some kind of entertainment to head his way, as the life of a hermit was hard if you weren't the extremely patient type.

Little did he know how soon his wish would be granted, as the Dawn Brigade was heading his way.

So how's that for a first chapter, if you find something wrong in my story, feel free to tell me, and don't moan at me if I've got the details wrong, I don't own any FE games besides SS, I've only watched some videos on of them, and I wish I did have them..

* * *

So, we have the OC, now all we need are the Cs


	2. twin blades encounter

Chapter 2: twin blades encounter

Alexander woke up the next day, feeling the heat from the sun and the sand beneath his feet. He had a weird feeling something would happen today, he gathered up his few belongings, (A chain mail vest, a leather shirt, the two blades, a vulnerary, steel armour leggings and boots) putting the stuff that he could on and the rest in a easy to reach area.

He walked out of his home, looking out towards the horizon. Something was coming, he knew it; he just didn't know what. He heard some foot steps in the sand and the chinking armour made when someone moved in it. He drew his swords.

Beyond the horizon, he saw a few figures running towards his position, most of them were holding a one headed axe and wearing a bit of tattered and ripped leather armour, the last one wore slightly broken chain mail with a double headed axe. Bandits, when they got closer Alexander counted about seven of them.

"Hey, boss. We found an easy target" one of the leather wearing ones told the chain wearing one.

"I think we might have an easy target, boys" the leader said, resting his axe on his shoulder. "You want this one lads? whoever owns this place would be a good sell on the market"

"Yeah, more money for us!" another leather wearing bandit shouted, dashing ahead off the rest.

"Leave some of it for us, Marcus" another one said, the other five leather wearing bandits ran to catch up. They didn't stand a chance of catching up in these sands.

"Come on, give me a challenge" Alexander said, getting his blades ready, waiting for the bandits to attack him first. "May Ashera guide my blades" the bandit was a few feet away from him now, and started swinging his axe.

Alexander sidestepped the swing, the bandit slipping on the sand when he was finished. Alexander used this opportunity to hit back, slashing the bandit through the gut, blood flying through the air, some of it landing on his face; the bandit clutched his chest when the blade was removed, falling to the ground and staining the sand, dead.

"Heh, too easy" he commented, looking down at the bandit, seeing a bottle of some sort in a pouch. He reached in and pulled it out, finding out that it was a vulnerary. He put it into his pocket, alongside his own vulnerary. He refocused on the charging horde, getting a proper stance to defend himself with.

_Meanwhile, north of this little battle…_

A merchant caravan was moving across the desert; normally it would just have the three horses towing the three cargo wagons, along with the guiders and guards. Today, however, it had picked up 12 extra passengers, a group of youths and a slightly older man, all armed with tomes and weapons in case of battle.

One of the youths, with brown hair and brown leather suit, stood up in one of the wagons, getting an iron sword off the floor, finding a space away from the rest of the group and doing a bit of phantom swordplay, spinning the sword in his hand before he started, the oldest member of the group, with brown hair and chain mail covered over by a blue leather shirt and brown trousers, relaxed on the floor, looking over at him.

"Your determined to be ready, aren't you Edward?" he asked the swordsman, the youth kept on practising.

"I have to be ready, Nolan, I can't let the rest of the group down" Edward answered, holding his sword horizontally and running forward a bit.

"You work yourself too hard sometimes. While, yes, we do have to be ready for anything, we won't be much use if we're worn out" Nolan got up, grabbing his axe as he did so.

They were interrupted as a young green haired boy, wearing a tight green leather shirt and a white cape, jumped in from the desert, his face had a determined look on it and he didn't flinch as Edward's blade neared his face, in fact he grabbed a knife and blocked it as if it were nothing.

"Edward, Nolan, we've trouble south of us" he informed the pair, Edward put his blade away quickly, his face embarrassed as he realised who he nearly hit; Nolan got up of the floor and grabbed his axe, holding it over his shoulder.

"Now what is it, Sothe?" Nolan asked.

"Micaiah saw a warrior to the south, dieing at the hands of bandits"

"Oh, so it's the basic good deed for Daein routine"

"Exactly, Yune flew that way as well, so if you see her, grab her for Micaiah"

"Very well, just make sure we get some help" Edward interjected.

"Relax, you've got all the help you need"

"Well, I guess the caravan is staying here"

"We don't leave allies behind"

"Well, see you in a few minutes then" Nolan said, jumping out the back of the wagon, closely followed by Edward, they headed southwards, under orders from their leader.

_Back with Alexander_

"How long do you five intend to take?" Alexander said, looking at the other five bandits.

"You shall regret insulting us!" One of the bandits shouted, he jumped up and swung his axe down first, easily dodged by Alexander with a sidestep.

"Yawn, I've seen a grain of sand fight better then you lot" he taunted, kicking the bandit in the chest.

He backed off a bit, using his blades to block the bandits axe blows or to dodge them by sidestepping. He was slowly being pushed back towards his own house, and that wouldn't help him much, he never fought inside his own house, the amount of junk around.

He rolled around the bandits, drawing them southwards slowly. One of the bandits stopped trying for a bit; Alexander thought he was giving up for a bit to recover his breath. This small combat was tiring, even though it was short. He tried to slash at one of them. Missing and moving one of his blades to block another blow.

"Ok, maybe your better then I thought" Alexander conceded, moving the other blade to block another blow. "Ok, your definitely better then I thought" he then forced one of the axes back, slashing at the bandit and killing him in one blow. "But I'm still better"

_North of this incident…_

"Why do we have to walk across the desert, why not send Volug or Raphael or even Nailahah?" Edward asked, drinking a bit of water out of a container.

"Well, we're the closest out of the bunch, excluding Micaiah and Sothe" Nolan answered

"Well, I guess I can get a bit more experience at fighting for this"

"That's the spirit"

"Well, how much further are we anyway?"

The two fighters then heard the sound of steel on steel, and the occasion yell. They both ran over towards it, seeing a lone warrior in black, wielding two swords, fighting off five bandits, a nearby house with an open door was the only sign of civilisation in this area, and that was rare. A lone warrior stood nearby, leaning on his axe and watching his warriors do their work.

"Well, looks like Micaiah was right again" Nolan commented, getting his axe ready. "Are you ready, Edward?"

"As ever Nolan" Edward said, getting his sword out of its sheath.

"Let's go"

Both men ran towards the battle, hoping they wouldn't arrive too late to help the warrior.

"Come on then, aren't you going to keep fighting?" One of the bandits taunted, Alexander forced his two blades against the two axes wielded by the bandits, the other two were behind them, looking for an opening to attack; they weren't very smart, obviously.

"I'm just getting warmed up" Alexander answered, he saw the other two had wizened up, walking round their allies behind Alexander, a prime position to slash away.

"Need a hand!" someone shouted; a young man appeared out of nowhere and slashed at one of them, his axe sticking in the bandit's chest.

"For the Dawn Brigade!" a youth shouted, the other bandit fell to the ground after a sword went through him, both of the bandits fell to the ground dead, their blood staining the warriors faces with drops of blood. Alexander kicked one of the bandits, making him step back with which he got slashed in the guts, the other was slashed with the free sword. Both fell to the ground, blood spreading across the sand.

"Thanks" he said, standing up and looking at the pair, "Names?"

"Well, that's quite rude" the young one said

"Try spending four years in solitude"

"Why have you spent four years alone out here?"

"Because I wanted to"

"Enough, both of you" the older of the pair interrupted "don't we have someone to fight"

"Leave him to me"

Alexander walked towards the bandit leader, leaving the pair behind him; the man in question had walked towards him, surprised at the defeat of his bandits.

"How…How did you managed to defeat them?" he asked, Alexander stayed silent, keeping his swords ready "Well, I guess I can't beat you three alone"

"Name" Alexander demanded.

"Luicius, you?"

"Alexander"

"Alright, Alexander, next time we meet, I shall avenge this defeat"

"Be waiting for you"

Lucius turned around and walked away, to what Alexander knew was the main Daein territory; he turned back to his allies, both of whom were next to him. Everyone put their weapons away.

"Forgive me for earlier, it's just…four years alone…" he started.

"Don't worry, I understand" the younger reassured him. "Now, what's your name?"

"I was known as Alexander"

"'Was'?"

"I left my life behind four years ago, but what are your names?"

"I am Edward, young swordsman of the Dawn brigade"

"My name is Nolan, Eldest member of the Dawn brigade" The older introduced him self.

"What's the Dawn brigade?" Alexander asked.

"You've never heard of the Dawn brigade?!" Edward asked

"No, should I have"

Nolan and Edward both looked at each other, surprise on their face. They thought that everyone had heard of them, even those outside of Daein and Beingion. They looked back at Alexander.

"You're sure you've never heard of us?" Nolan asked

"Yes, I have been in the desert for four years, what would you expect?" Alexander replied, crossing his arms.

"Well, I guess the only way we can really explain is if you come with us" Edward told him.

"Who is your leader anyway?"

"Her name is Micaiah, the silver haired maiden of Daein, a light priestess"

"Oh, a wielder of light magic then"

"Yeah, and she is one of the best hopes for a free Daein"

"What, Daein is under occupation by Beignion"

"Yes, after the mad kings war three years ago, Beignion took hold of Dain, and that was where it went downhill"

Alexander kept quiet after this; his homeland had taken hold of his current home, he couldn't really stand for that, even though it did mean he was technically home, but still, no man should stand under foreign rule.

"Alright, let me meet this 'silver haired maiden' then I will decide what I do?" he told the pair, both of them looked at him with a smile on their faces.

"Well, come on then, we have to meet up with them before they decide to send help" Nolan told Edward and Alexander, he walked north, Edward following, spinning his blade in his hand, Alexander walked after them, keeping his blades at his sides. He looked at his side and saw a cut and so applied some vulnerary to the wound, sealing it right up.

* * *

You know how Micaiah, Ike and Elencia are unique classes. (Light priestess, Hero and Queen respectively) Well, I MIGHT have Alexander being one, not sure what yet, but I might just have him being a normal class, I'll let you know at the start when I decide.


	3. the silver haired maiden of dawn

* * *

Right, I'm back, sorry I've been gone, but I've had some work to do.

Class update: Alexander is going to be a samurai class; if he was in a fire emblem game then one sword covers both. (So if he wielded one killing edge, both blades look like a killing edge) right now he is level 6, as I think everyone would be right now

* * *

Chapter Three: Silver Haired Maiden of Dawn.

"So, what is Micaiah like?" Alexander asked, still walking through the desert he had lived in, oddly Nolan and Edward were sweating like mad.

"She's one of the most caring people you'll ever meet" Edward told him, still spinning his blade, suddenly he dropped it, nearly hitting Nolan, which was when he put it into its sheath.

"She is kind, caring and responsible" Nolan commented, taking the leather overcoat off revealing a chain mail suit. He then looked at Alexander, taking a drink out of a hipflask. "How can you take the heat so well?"

"To cut it short, you have to do something for four years, I hunted, gathered water and practised with my blades, all in this heat" the warrior answered.

"I honestly can't see any one doing that" Edward disbelievingly told him, taking a drink out of a different hip flask. "Four years alone would drive even the sanest person mad"

"I've had my mental moments, but the occasional fights with bandits have kept me rational" Alexander answered, Edward just nodded

"Well, if you are as strong as Micaiah says you are, then we will have to change that" Nolan continued, looking at the blades that the warrior was carrying. "Where'd you get those two anyway?"

"What, you mean these blades?" Alexander pulled the blades out of there sheathes, showing them to be old, rusty and on the verge of breaking. "I've had these since before I came here"

"Would you please elaborate?"

"Fair enough, I used to do some treasure hunting in Serenes, along with…" Alexander stooped there, looking at the sand beneath them. "…with a hunting party, I wanted to see more of the world and so left, taking these blades, a vulnerary and the clothes you see me in now"

"And you've lived here for four years"

"Yeah, I built up what I had from that"

"Ok, now I think you're totally mad" Edward stated, shaking his head.

"Like I said before, try living alone in the desert for four years, you tend to try and survive with a home and ample supplies" Alexander threw the blades in the air, catching them in there individual sheathes. "And get a lot of skill through practise"

Both Edward and Nolan looked surprised as they saw the skill of the warrior, Edward most of all, as he was an aspiring swordsman himself. All three kept on walking, hearing a bird chirping, odd for this region of the desert.

Eventually, the trio came within visual range of a merchant caravan. Nolan and Edward's faces lit up as they saw it, the youth of the pair running towards it as he thought about a reunion with their friends. Alexander and Nolan just walked at their normal pace, thinking that the swordsman was silly to waste energy running.

"Hey, guys, we're back!" Edward shouted, stopping nearby. Two more youths and a wolf got out of the cargo wagons one being Sothe, but Alexander didn't know him. The other was a young boy with blond hair wearing blue leather clothes, holding a bow.

"Well, took you long enough" Sothe commented, walking up to his friend and patting him on the shoulder. "Good work, but where's Nolan?"

"Over here Sothe" Nolan said him and Alexander walking over to the four.

"Good to see you again Nolan" The archer said, looking at the new figure. "I see you found our warrior"

"That's a nice way of saying hello now isn't it" Alexander moaned, crossing his arms.

"Don't worry, Leonardo, he's like that" Edward told the archer, jumping into a Wagon.

"Yeah, sorry, four years alone can do that to a person" Alexander apologised.

"Four years? That is a long time" Leonardo conceded. "Well, my name is Leonardo, Young Marksman of the Dawn Brigade"

"I'm Sothe, veteran of the Mad King's war and guardian to Micaiah" the rogue introduced himself, bowing before the warrior.

"Hey, forget the bowing" Alexander protested. "I'm nothing but a hermit or a warrior, depending on your point of view. Now is there anyone else to meet?"

"Well…yeah" Sothe answered, pointing at the wolf.

"What, the wolf?"

"Don't upset Volug, he's stronger then he looks as a Laguz"

"Oh, I finally meet a Laguz then"

"I'll go on patrol duty if it's alright with you Sothe" Nolan told the youth.

"Sure, And Leonardo, it's your turn to rest, Volug, go on Patrol" Sothe told the other three. They complied, walking away.

"So, who else is there to meet?" Alexander asked.

"Let's see, there's Laura, Aran, Iliyana, Naialah and Rafiel, along with Micaiah" the young rogue answered.

"Well, let's get going then, I want to make sure I can get along with these guys" Alexander smiled.

"Well, come on then, most of them are resting in the wagon"

Sothe lead Alexander along the desert sands towards the wagons, he didn't seem to mind the desert as much as the others. He knew where to put his feet to avoid slipping in the sands. And he kept his knifes ready in an easy to reach place.

Eventually, Sothe leaped into a wagon, closely followed by Alexander, looking round the wagon, he saw Edward and Leonardo at the far side, resting on the floor, on the left were two youths, one was wearing blue armour all over him, a lance and a shield at his side, the other was a young girl, wearing yellow and holding a staff. Both were talking quite quietly.

On the other side was a young girl with purple hair, she was reading out of a tome with a lightning bolt symbol on it, most likely a mage of some sort every so often her stomach would rumble, so she was definitely hungry.

"Right, Edward, you're up" Sothe told the swordsman, he got up and jumped out, eager to start. The soldier and the girl stopped talking, looking at Sothe, seeing the new face with him.

"Hello" the girl started, getting off the floor and walking over to him. "Might I ask your name?"

"My name is Alexander" he replied, holding his hands behind his head. "What's your name?"

"Well, Alexander, my name is Laura, a priest from Daein"

"Nice to meet you, Laura" Alexander replied, feeling a sting in his arm, he pulled back the leather to see a cut, most likely from the bandit attack…odd how it didn't damage the clothing.

"You poor thing, here let me fix you up" she spoke, holding her staff over the wound, fixing it up in seconds.

"Oh, a heal staff, I haven't seen one of them in ages"

"Just hope she doesn't have to use that too often" the soldier told him, getting off the ground, his armour chinking as he moved about. "My name is Aran"

"Nice to meet you and I haven't seen a soldier in AGES" the warrior replied, looking around the soldier's nicely maintained armour.

"Well, now you have once again, and welcome to the dawn brigade"

Alexander looked at the girl on the floor, still reading from her book, she looked up at the young lad looking down on her.

"Oh, sorry" she started, getting off the floor and bowing. "My name is Iliyana"

"Nice to meet you" the lad replied, looking at her book. "So, a thunder mage I see"

"Yeah, useful against enemies isn't it"

"True, but I prefer to be in the thick of the battle"

"Well, you hold them off, I'll support you"

"Deal"

Sothe grabbed Alexander's shoulder, turning him round and seeing the youth's face.

"Right then, let's go see the last three" he told the warrior, walking out of the wagon.

"Nice meeting you three, see you later" Alexander replied, following Sothe.

The two walked around the outside of the wagons, now starting moving again to avoid Bandit attacks, or some other reason. They ran along the sand, heading towards the front wagon, jumping in when close enough. Inside were three people sitting on the floor, one was a woman who had red skin and clothes that suited the desert. Another one opposite was a young man with long blonde hair, white clothes all over him and white wings on his back. Alexander figured these two were Laguz

The other one was definitely a Beroc; she was a young girl, with silver hair. On her shoulder was a red bird of some sort.

"So, Naialah, any places out here that seem suspicious?" she asked the red skinned woman.

"As far as I've seen, we're heading towards it" The woman replied.

"Just tell me again why we are heading towards the centre of the desert?" the White winged person spoke.

"Rafiel, all I know is that there is an important meeting there" The silver haired girl replied, and then looking over at Sothe and Alexander. "Hello Sothe"

"Micaiah, is this the warrior you were on about earlier?" Sothe asked, Alexander looked at the girl, seeing nothing really special about her.

"It is, thank you"

"Hang on, what are you on about?" Alexander asked, looking at the three. "Who are you anyway?"

"He does have a point" the rogue interjected.

"Alright, I'm Micaiah, leader of the dawn brigade" she introduced her self, getting up off the floor and bowing before the warrior. "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"The pleasure definitely belongs to you" Alexander replied, leaning against a wall of the wagon. The red skinned woman stood up and pinned him against the wall.

"Don't talk to her like that!" she shouted.

"Why not?" Alexander argued, looking round at the rest of the group, even Sothe looked angry. "I'm expected to walk out of my old life of peace and help restore a country I was never really part of" Alexander put his hand on one of his blades. "Now, unless you can give me a good reason why I should fight for a country I don't belong to; then I'm going"

"What about helping out a Heron?" Rafiel interjected, getting up off the floor, his wings flapping a bit as he did so. "I'm sure the people of Beignion are eager to redeem themselves from the Serenes massacre"

Alexander looked at the ground, he knew what Rafiel was on about, and he was under the impression that if he didn't, then he would owe Edward and Nolan for the rest of his days out here. He took his hand off his blade, sneaking out of Naialah's pin.

"Good point, fair Heron. While I had no part to play in that, I do seek a bit of forgiveness for that incident" Alexander conceded, walking in front of the pair. "Perhaps I was a bit rash there, my apologies, but four years of loneliness…"

"How many more times are you going to us that excuse today?" Sothe asked.

"How ever many times it takes before I don't have too" the warrior replied, getting his blades out and looking at them again. "I've never served under someone before in my whole life"

"We don't serve under anyone" Naialah told him. "We are here because we fight for the same cause, the freedom of Daein from Beignion"

"Oh, so I'm free to leave once Daein is free then"

"Correct" the silver haired girl answered. "No one is bound to stay to us once our objective is complete"

"Well, that's fair" the warrior replied, still looking at his blades. "Just get me a new pair of blades and I'll be fine"

"Welcome to our ranks" Sothe told him, patting him on the shoulder. "Go and rest with the rest of the group and I'll get you your swords and patrol order"

"Fine, see you later then"

Alexander jumped out the back of the wagon, heading towards the wagon where the other members were. Sothe stayed behind, looking at Micaiah and the two Laguz.

"Are you sure about him?" he asked.

"Sothe, don't worry" Micaiah told him. "He will be useful in our coming battles"

"We can't exactly judge him seeing as though we've only just met him" Naialah continued

"For the most part, he is bound by his commitment for atonement over the Serenes massacre" Rafiel finished. Sothe walked around the wagon, nearly falling over when the wagon went down a dune.

"If he tries to hurt you Micaiah, I will kill him" Sothe promised, spinning a knife on his hand. He then jumped out, heading towards the supply stash to grab a pair of swords.

* * *

Right, there's the Dawn Brigade, ought to be fun. And I know I've left Meg out, but I thought that she wasn't really that important, and you didn't get her automatically anyway so you don't really miss much, just an armour general

I know what I put at the top doesn't exactly link up with Sothe getting two blades, but I can't exactly have some weird magic splitting the blades in two, or can I?

So next chapter is the first battle with all of them together in one battle. By the way, if you Want a specific character involved, be it OC or C, then tell me and I will do my best, may have a problem with the OC's, so wait a bit for them and expect a bit of mail regarding personality and attack style if you do. And I will only accept two at the moment, Makes it easier for the split up.


	4. unexpected encounter

Moving on to the story again, still level 6, and we've met everyone so far, onto the story again

I would like to thank Blue Orbi Angel for the OC and the support so far, right now, I'm increasing the OC's request to three, so I need two more for Elencia's part, I might increase it near Ike's part, but I don't know yet, I'll tell you who sent in the OC and I might ask them for the personal ending thing, like Ike leaving Tellius along with an OC and so on, but I'll ask near the end for that, so don't send that in just yet, I would prefer one per writer, but I'm not sure how I'll work this yet.

Moving on to the story again, still level 6, and we've met everyone so far, onto the story again

P.S I will apologise if I get the attack effects wrong

Chapter 4: mysterious figure

On patrol in the desert, on the way to what Micaiah had told them was an important meeting, nothing else about it. Alexander, with his new steel blades, along with his old iron ones, his leather armour had been thrown into a corner in the wagon, his chain mail vest on still, along with Sothe.

"So how long have you guys been fighting?" Alexander asked Sothe, spinning his blades in his hands, he was still getting used to the heavy steel of the blades.

"About 3 months now" he answered, looking down at the sand. "I think I'm the most experienced of the group, but Nolan's the eldest"

Actually that reminds me" Alexander started, putting his blades away normally. "You said you were a veteran of the mad king's war" He looked down at the ground. "What exactly happened during that war?"

"Ah, you've missed out on a lot then, but you've made up for it with your training" Sothe replied, throwing a dagger up and catching it. "The mad king of Daein, Ashnard, waged war on Crimea, which was where Commander Ike was at the time"

"Ike?" Alexander asked, he had heard that name somewhere

"Leader of the Greil mercenaries"

"I thought Sir Greil was the leader"

"How do you know about Greil?"

"Well…" Alexander started, looking down at the ground again. "I knew someone who knew him, they did some training and he learned more combat techniques. He passed them on to me and I adapted it to two blades"

"Oh, I guess that kinda covers it" Sothe replied, looking at his blade. "Well, I guess we all adapt our own techniques for our skills"

"If I go back a subject…"

"Sorry. He died near the start, Ike took over with his sister Mist, the war itself involved near enough the entire continent, including Galia, Phonesis, Silvas, Beignion, Crimea and Daein, obviously the last two had to be involved"

"So the Laguz got involved" Alexander spoke, putting his hands behind his head.

"Please don't tell me you're a Laguz-hater"

"No, I just thought Laguz kept themselves to themselves, as did the Beroc"

"Well, Crimea's monarch gave it his all to try to establish good Laguz-Beroc relationships"

"What happened to him?"

Sothe looked at the ground, quite sadly as he thought about his fate.

"Another casualty of war I'm afraid" he explained, raising his head.

"Shame, he was a great duke" the warrior replied, his ears suddenly pricked up as he heard something in the distance.

"Something's here" he said, getting a sword out and stopping, Sothe following suit.

"What?" the rogue asked, Alexander still heard the footsteps, his years in the desert aiding him, feeling heavy footsteps in the sands.

"Its sounds and feels like a small army" he replied, closing his eyes and focusing. "I'd say it's a group of soldiers, a few knights, mages and I'd say a few bandit's near them"

"You must have had fun out here" Sothe joked

"When you're as bored as I got, you tend to learn these things. It's useless on solid grounds though" he confessed, opening his eyes and looking at the young warrior. "Get the wagon stopped and the guys ready, I'll do a bit of scouting"

"Alright, good luck" Sothe told him, running back to the cart. Alexander went on ahead, checking on this…small army that he sensed.

He eventually saw a building in the desert, surrounded by loads of Beignion soldiers, almost the exact group he though they were, except for a few swordsmen instead of bandits…he slapped himself for saying bandits in the first place, why would they come to an area unpopulated?

He crouched down, hoping not to be seen, wishing he had his leather with him. Looking at the building that the enemy were centred around, it looked old and dilapidated. Then seeing them try to break the door down. One of them shouted something, but Alexander couldn't hear it.

After that, the door opened, and a white armour clad knight shoved his way out, lancing one of the enemy in the stomach, (He wasn't expecting that) falling to the ground, dead, blood spilling on the ground. He stepped out, followed by a guy with blue hair wearing silver, along with a long sword. A woman with long red hair riding a wyvern and armed with an axe flew down from the top beside them.

The man in white shouted something, pointing to the girl and pointing to his left, then to the guy and pointing to his right, like a triangle formation. A fourth walked out of the place, it was hard to tell what s/he looked like, as s/he wore dark clothes all over, only showing some dark auburn hair. Some weird scrolls and black star shaped objects were evident around his/her clothes.

"This looks new…" Alexander commented, keeping his eye on the figure, a soldier charged her which was deftly dodged and countered; the figure threw a star at an enemy, hitting him square in the head. She then threw a scroll; it unrolled and stuck to the air, like it was a wall, then sending out a bolt of lightning at a different soldier, dropping him instantly. Alexander whistled as he saw this. "…That's power"

He heard movement nearby; looking just to the left of the enemy was the entire Dawn Brigade, all ready to fight with their weapons ready, Iliyana and Micaiah holding a tome each, Nolan with his Axe and the Laguz ready. Rafiel hung at the back, with Leonardo giving support.

"Hang on" Sothe asked, looking round the battlefield. "Where's Alexander?"

"More important things right now Sothe" Edward interrupted, getting his blade out. "Do you know them?"

Sothe looked at the figures, his face turning from confusion to surprise as he recognised three of them.

"I was wondering what happened to them" he commented, Micaiah looking at him. "It's Tauroneo, Jill and Zihack. They fought in the war along with me and Commander Ike"

"Well, who's the fourth then?" Micaiah asked, Sothe looked at her with an intense stare, trying to find out who she was as the scroll returned to her hands.

"I honestly have no idea" he replied, scratching his head.

"Well, at least we know those four are allied" Alexander spoke, walking over to the group. "That…one in black has power, but it comes from scrolls, not tomes like you and Iliyana own, and how did you get here so quickly?"

"Volug sensed them, so how far off were you?" Sothe asked.

"Change bandits to swordsman, Mercenaries by the look of them"

"So we're fighting Beignion again, where do you stand right now?" the rogue enquired, getting closer to the warrior.

"I'll fight, May as well do after I left so long ago" was the reply, the fighter shaking his head as he said it. "But I can't believe I am"

"We all do things we can't believe at the time, but it will be worth it in the end" Micaiah consoled, walking over to him, tome in hand. "If you don't want to fight here, you don't have to"

"If I may, I would at least like to find out who the black one is" he then looked over at the other group, seeing that the one in black had vanished, he then saw her appear behind two soldiers, using a scroll again to kill them both. "Could be interesting either way"

"If I may recommend something here" Naialah started, everyone looked at her, listening. "If we split up, we have a better chance of beating them and saving those four"

"That's not a bad plan" Micaiah replied, looking between the group. "Alright, Aran, Iliyana, and Edward, go with Alexander down the right side of the field"

Alexander was surprised by this, he was trusted already…Micaiah was more then she seemed, obviously, Sothe looked at him in a concerned way, as if he could tell the future and saw Alexander betraying them..

"Thank you, Micaiah" Alexander replied, bowing before the maiden, then standing up straight, getting his old swords out. "Right, Aran, Iliyana, Edward, lets mobilise"

He led his group around the battlefield, hoping to catch the enemy off guard. Micaiah and the rest of the Dawn Brigade looked at the enemy, seeing the 4 fighting but steadily getting overwhelmed.

"Dawn Brigade, Move out" she spoke, running towards the enemy with her friends alongside her.

With Tauroneo, Jill, Zihack and the fourth member…

The white knight kept on stabbing enemies in the gut, killing them in one go, blood spraying onto his armor, Jill and Zihack were moving around the group, Zihack running the enemy through with Jill axing them. The fourth was having a blast, throwing her stars at the enemy and attacking them with lightning.

"Zihack, Jill, delta maneuver" Tauroneo told them, swiping another soldier in the head.

"Why can't I get a day off?" Zihack moaned, running two through and spinning his sword.

"Look, we fight for a free Daein, isn't that enough?" Jill argued back, throwing an axe at one of the enemy, splitting him in half, the one in black just laughed.

"What's so funny Jedena?" the swordsman asked

"Nothing, just you two arguing in the middle of a battle while I attack them with my Shuriken" the ninja replied, getting a sword out quickly and slashing at an approaching axe man, knocking him down dead. "Easy. And sword" she put the blade back quickly, under her garb.

Jill looked in the distance, seeing another two squads coming towards them; she focused a bit more and made out the figures of Sothe and Iliyana.

"Well, looks like aid is coming soon" she pointed out, coming back down and swiping at three soldiers. "Sothe and Iliyana are coming this way with reinforcements"

"I could handle these guys on my own" Jedena stated, using her scroll again to strike at another. "Keep the building safe, I check on Iliyana's group of reinforcements" she then vanished, leaving the other three alone.

"Sothe, take the lead, Nolan, Volug, Naiahlah, reinforce, Leonardo, stay beck with me" Micaiah ordered, she then used her light magic, hitting an enemy with a spike of light. Sothe ran him through with a dagger, finishing him off, blood spraying over him.

Nolan swung his axe at an enemy, being blocked then kicking out. The swordsman fell back a bit to recover his breath, and then charged back in, forcing a deadlock.

"A little help here!" he shouted, trying to force the blade back. Volug, in his Wolf form, came along side and bit the foes head, running round and breaking his neck with a shower of blood. "Thanks"

Leonardo got a few arrows out, loading them one at a time into his bow, steadying his aim, he fired through a gap in his allies at a charging halberdier, hitting him in the head, falling to the ground dead.

"Still got it" he spoke, firing two more arrows at an enemy threatening Naiahlah. The wolf looked at him, howling in recognition. "Your welcome" he then notched another arrow and hit an enemy near Nolan.

On the other side of the battlefield, Alexander's group was just arriving on the field, their weapons held tightly in their hands. The enemy had not noticed them…Great for a surprise attack.

"Iliyana" Alexander started, looking at the mage. "Can you give us some thunder?"

"On it" she replied, opening her book and speaking in some weird language, bringing her hand up then bringing it down, bringing another bolt down on an enemy soldier, falling down dead.

"Nice shot" Alexander complimented, looking at the mage.

"Comes with the practice and experience" she replied.

"So, how do we move then?" Aran asked, Edward next to him seemingly nodding in agreement, as if he wondered the same thing.

"A simple charge, stay together and wipe them out" He told them, getting his blades ready. "If you see that black one, let me handle her"

"Sure" they all said at the same time.

"Right then, Edward with Aran, Iliyana, with me. Let's move"

The small group moved forward, splitting into their pairs as they did. The soldiers in front of them turned round in surprise, one shouting something, but he was struck with lightning before he could finish, Iliyana closing her tome. Edward and Aran engaged a few knights, fighting quite effectively in a team with some good team moves, Edward jumping on Aran's lance after he missed, slashing at the target from above.

"Makes you wonder how long those two have fought and trained together" Alexander commented.

"About a month…less then that" Iliyana replied, Alexander looking at her in surprise. "Now that I think of it it's about 6 days, when I joined as well"

"Their good then, I couldn't do anything with 6 days practice that good"

"Should we give it a go?" She asked the warrior, he looked at her and smiled.

"You sure you're ready?"

"I'll be fine, it's you who will be in the firing line" she replied.

"Good point" he then looked at his old swords, seeing the rust would make this there last outing. "Let's give these a good send off"

"You'll have to forgive me if this hurts you" she spoke, holding a hand up in the air. "Blades up and be ready for a shock"

Alexander complied, holding still and bracing for the lightning, Iliyana brought her hand down, bringing a bolt of thunder down with it, striking the swords. Sparks of lightning danced along the blades, making the blade thin out. The warrior charged towards two knights, both wearing thick red full plate armor, brand new by the looks of things.

"Fall!" he shouted, running both through with a blade each. The knights were electrocuted by over a thousand volts of pure lightning, along with a slash to their side. These were enough to kill them, Alexander breathing heavily as the lightning left his swords, the end of the blade falling off.

"It was worth it" he spoke, looking back at the thunder mage. "Let's not do that again unless we have to though"

"Agreed" Iliyana replied, breathing heavier then Alexander. "But it was a good idea"

The warrior then looked at his now broken swords. They had served him so well over the years, shame they had to break, but they had done there duty. He placed them in there old sheathes, getting his new swords out and walking over to the other two.

"Stop!" a girls voice shouted, the black robed figure appeared out of nowhere, Star in hand with sword in the other. She stood there, looking up and down his figure.

"I was wondering when we'd meet" The warrior commented. "Who are you and what are you here for?"

She didn't answer, instead looking at Iliyana and pointing to Edward and Aran. The pair looked over and saw they were struggling, Edward stuck in a deadlock with three enemies and Aran holding two back with his shield and his spear. Iliyana ran over to them, throwing thunder bolts down as she did.

"You will stay" The girl continued, Alexander looking at her, removing enough from her head to reveal a girl's face with more of the surprisingly dark surprisingly long auburn hair. She took the garb off, revealing dark tight leather clothes with a sword sheath on her side. A pocket was full of what seemed to be more of the stars and an arm hoister was full of scrolls.

"Who are you?" the warrior asked, getting his new swords into a defensive stance.

"My name is Jedena, I'm a Genin and a friend" she answered.

"What's a Genin?"

"Ninja, now come on, we have a fight to finish"

"Fine, but let's talk more after this battle"

"Agreed"

Both the warriors charged back in, using the weapons they had to aid Edward, Aran and Iliyana…

Back to Tauroneo, Jill and Zihack.

"For Daein!" Jill shouted, throwing her axe down at one of the enemy's, he fell down to the ground when it impacted with his skull, Jill flying along side and pulling the axe back out.

"For freedom!" Zihack yelled, running two through with his blade, blood spilling over him as he went by.

Tauroneo was still lancing his enemies, not looking at the back of them as three mages prepared a spell each, one got Wind ready to strike at Jill, the green light building above his head, the second got a fire spell ready, aiming it at Zihack, the last was preparing a thunder spell, aimed at Tauroneo.

"Nice try" Nolan spoke, cutting the thunder mage down with his axe.

"For Daein!" Sothe shouted, throwing a knife at the wind mage, killed as soon as the dagger entered his head.

"By the goddess" Leonardo spoke, aiming an arrow at the third, hitting him in the gut but not killing him, he ran up to the mage and kicked him down, loading another arrow and firing at his chest at point blank range. Tauroneo looked over and saw his old companion and his allies, seeing the heron in the background singing his galdr.

"On your right!" Aran shouted, throwing a javelin at a soldier attacking Zihack, Hitting him square in the gut, never hitting the ground as he was stuck on the lance.

"You're losing your touch" Iliyana spoke, a bolt of lightning struck a wind mage down in one blow. Alexander scanned the battlefield, seeing only a fighter left…Luicius from before, he ran off, seeing that the men had been defeated by the Dawn Brigade.

"Luicius…What are you doing still hanging around?" Alexander asked, not really looking for an answer from anyone, he put his swords away, turning round and looking at the group, seeing them walk into the building. Only Jedena was left, keeping an eye on him.

"Well, come on, lets go in" Jedena spoke, walking into the building, Alexander stopped in front of the door, looking behind him at the desert, making sure nothing else was coming. He turned back, remembering what his 'garden' looked like then stepping into the building.

Sorry I've been so long, it's just been hard with course work and all that…I am serious about the OC appeal, the more the merrier but make sure I know what they will act like.

And blue orbi angel, thanks


	5. A few explanations

Sorry, but I'm not 100 on Pelleas mother's name, so if it's spelt wrong, sorry

Sorry, but I'm not 100 on Pelleas mother's name, so if it's spelt wrong, sorry.

Chapter 5: A few explanations.

Alexander walked into the building, seeing the rest of the brigade sat down…well, apart from Micaiah and Sothe, but they were standing in front of a young boy, wearing white clothes with purple hair, a middle aged woman wearing a brown cloak and an old man with a bent back, black clothes and balding black hair. He looked round the room, seeing Jedena leaning against the wall.

"Are you…the Dawn Brigade of Daein?" the boy asked, Alexander joined Jedena.

"We are" Micaiah answered.

"Who are you?" Sothe asked.

"I am Pelleas, son of the mad king, next in line to the throne of Daein" the boy answered, Alexander could hear gasps all around the room, all from the brigade members…except for Micaiah, Sothe and Alexander, still looking on. The woman stepped up, her green hair visible.

"I am Almeda, his mother, and I recognised him as soon as I saw him" she spoke; she gave off an air of royalty and exuberant joy. The old man then stepped forward.

"I am Izuka, Advisor to the prince of Daein" he spoke, looking up the young leader of the Dawn Brigade. "We have been saved by kids…what is Daein coming to?"

"Izuka, you do go too far" Tsureno spoke, walking over to the wise man…Alexander felt a weird air of madness, desperation and…depravity.

"Tsureno, do you dare speak against the advisor to the prince?!" he shouted, shoving his face in the old general face.

"Izuka, be silent" the prince commanded, swinging his white cape around.

"Yes…your majesty" he seemed annoyed at this, as if he wasn't here of his own free will.

"Not being rude about you or him" Alexander whispered, talking to Jedena. The prince talking in the background "I don't trust the old man"

"Well, neither do I" Jedena replied, looking at the warrior. "But because he is the prince's advisor, we can't do anything about it"

"Stuff this, I'm going for some air" Alexander proceeded to walk out, only to be stopped by Aran, who had been standing behind them.

"I think its best you listen to them about this" Aran told him. Jedena stepped in front of Aran.

"He's going for some air and you want to stop him" She moaned at him. "Just let him go"

Aran sighed and moved his lance from the doorway, the pair leaving the building. Alexander looked out along the horizon once he was out, thinking of the life he had left behind in the desert…even going as far back as Beignion…what of his mother?

'No, I can't think of her now, not after this long' he thought, shaking his head. He heard Jedena next to him, practically strolling over to the warrior.

"Why do I get the feeling it's only me you like?" Alexander asked, hoping to change his mental conversation. The Ninja walked over to him, looking over the horizon as well.

"You'd sorta be right" she replied. She then looked over the dead bodies, seeing a few get covered by sand. "So, you said we'd talk more after the battle"

"What's to talk about?" he asked, half of it rhetoric. "Well, what's your personality like?"

"Let's see, I'm shy when I'm talking to a lot of people, I'm a sneaky person, and I'm mostly silent" she pulled her garb up, protecting her face from the sand. "What about you?"

"Well, what's really to tell" he started, scratching his chin. "I'm a trusty person, dependable, brave and never one to turn down someone in need unless it is morally wrong" he then looked around, feeling movement nearby, then calmed when he saw a rat. "That's about it"

"Nice"

"Shame really, someone like me is wasted to a place like that" he looked at the ninja, seeing more scrolls and stars set about her person. "Just wondering, what are those…things?"

"What, these?" she pulled out a scroll and a star, holding them in front of the warrior. "These are Shuriken, or ninja stars, and…well, scrolls"

"I'm guessing there Ninja weapons"

"Exactly, made for stealth missions and espionage" she put the gear away, looking out to the horizon again.

They both heard a noise from the building; looking at it and seeing Sothe and Micaiah leave the place. Both of the companions turned to look at the silver haired maiden.

"We leave soon" Sothe spoke, looking at the pair. "We better be ready for what lies ahead"

"So, where's the next stop and who are we bringing along?" Alexander asked, looking at the pair.

"The Dawn Brigade and the soldiers here to defend Pelleas are merging to form the Daein Liberation army" Micaiah informed them.

"Great" he said sarcastically, looking at the ground. "Please don't tell me we have to drag that creepy old Izuka around with us"

"Sorry, but Pelleas refuses to leave him behind, but we do get Lady Almeda to bring along as consolation"

"Oh well, can't win them all I suppose"

The group started heading back to the caravan they had left before, bringing along Jill, Zihack, Tsureno, Pelleas, Almeda and Izuka. Jedena and Alexander were the first on guard duty, the warrior quickly selling his swords to the blacksmith for raw materials, then getting two iron swords from the store. (He'd tell Sothe he's borrowed them………………………………eventually)

And so the newly formed Daein Liberation army moves towards main Daein to form the base camp, starting a rebellion against their Beignion oppressors.

Sorry that this chapter isn't as long as the others, but at least it's up. If I've got it right in my head, the next battle (And a half) is the one that includes Fiona the pegesi rider…isn't it?

And please say I'm getting the names and personalities right. You don't have to, just correct me if you want.


	6. Archer's tale

Ok, I got some names and details wrong, so this is just a short filler chapter whilst I look them up again, Fiona is wrong for example (Thanks Blue Orbi Angel)

This is just for someone who requested it; I honestly shouldn't be doing it as it isn't my style, but just this once.

And sorry, but this isn't going to be long. I might do support conversations like this in future…key word there is might.

* * *

Chapter 6: Archer's tale

Alexander walked along the desert sands, Leonardo at his side. It was their turn on guard duty…and it was night time, coldest time out here in the desert. Having spent three years here, Alexander was used to the cold of night; Leonardo however, was a different story.

"Why did it have to be cold on my watch?" Leonardo asked, sneezing.

"Well, it had to happen sometime" Alexander replied, taking his leather off and passing it to Leonardo. "You need this more then me"

"Thanks" the archer immediately took it and put it on, still shivering from the cold.

"No problem" the warrior replied, then stopping as he felt something move along the desert sands, and then starting again as he figured out what it was.

"How long did that take you?" the young archer asked, looking at the warrior. "That desert sense thing"

"Well, I'd say about two years" Alexander looked at the moon, seeing it was full. "I first developed this ability on a night quite like this" he thought back to that night, trying to remember the details. "I had come across a desert village of nomads, they said about coming under attack from bandits and I said I'd help…for hunting and water rights of course" he looked at the stars, linking them up. "I was trying to find the bandits lair and…well, I got attacked by a group and the nomad chief was with me, he taught me how to do it and that's that"

Alexander was quiet for a bit after his story, letting it sink in to the young archer. He got his blades out, doing a few practise swings. "What about you? Who taught you to use the bow so well?"

Leonardo looked at the ground as he heard this, thinking of what to say, he sighed as he started.

"I was taught by Shion of the Greil mercenaries" he started, raising his head. "He was on contract in Nevessa when I was there. I asked him for a few lessons and he agreed" he followed Alexander's lead, linking up the stars. "I had to do a few odd jobs here and there to pay for them, but I managed to get enough money together to get weekly lessons"

At that he pulled out an arrow, threw it in the air, jumped after it and fired it at a tree stump 30 meters away…well, the arrow actually went through the stump, but either way he hit it. Alexander whistled as he saw this.

"One it's rare for a tree to grow out here" he started, moving out of the way of Leonardo's landing. "Two that was one hell of a shot"

"I've been practising" the archer replied, he then grabbed another arrow, span it in his hand and fired it at the same tree, hitting it and destroying it.

"What do you have against trees?" Alexander joked, seeing the shot. "That was awesome"

"It comes with the placement" the marksman replied, doing a little bow.

Alexander turned round, seeing Jedena quite close behind them. She must be good if he hadn't felt her in the sands.

"I've been sent to relieve you two" she told the pair, walking over to them. She mainly looked at Alexander, but occasionally looked at Leonardo. "Go get some sleep, by morning we should hit the campsite"

"Thanks Jedena" Leonardo replied, walking over to the wagons and jumping in the sleeping one. Alexander stayed behind, wanting to talk to Jedena for a bit.

"How did you sneak over the sand?" he asked the ninja.

"Like I said, I'm good at espionage" she replied, looking the warrior in the eye. "Besides, you were talking a lot"

"Good point well made" he walked away from the girl, heading towards the wagon. "Have fun"

"Yeah, Yeah"

* * *

Not long but I just needed a small filler for a request. Next time it's the camp and he plan…maybe the battle, I don't know what I'll do, damn the monkeys, and the lemony fresh scent you get from washing up liquid


	7. campsite and a laugh

Right, now is we are at the camp site. And the OC request still stands. I would two from two different authors. Sorry Blue Orbi angel, I've already got yours.

Up to level 10…ish, I'm going to set it up so they promote in either part 3, part 4, or the endgame. For those of you who haven't played the game and are reading this, I'll let you know when it starts

* * *

Chapter 7: campsite and a laugh.

The Dawn Brigade members that weren't on duty, meaning everyone except Tsureno, Sothe, Volug and Rafiel (Oddly), were asleep in the wagon. Everyone was having a quiet night sleep. Alexander, on the other hand, was tossing and turning like a boat in a stormy ocean.

_He was running…from what he didn't know. He had darkness all around him and a light path in front of him._

"_Alexander!" a voice shouted behind him, it sounded like a young girl; he still didn't look behind him. "Alexander! Alexander!"_

"_Go away!" he shouted, the path suddenly became a staircase. He ran up it, still no looking back._

"_Alexander!"_

"_Just leave me alone!"_

"_Alexander!"_

_He kept on running, eventually reaching the end of the path. He stopped before the edge, standing and looking down, seeing the whole of Tellius as a tiny blip beneath him._

"_No way am I going down there" he spoke, turning round and holding his swords firm. "Come and get me!"_

_He was surprised when he saw who it was that was chasing him, or should that be what it was. He saw three different people walk up to him. One was a beast tribe Laguz, with blue hair and as tall as him, along with loads of muscles. The second was a member of the Heron tribe. His white wings gave off an air of royalty and his long blonde hair made him look quite handsome._

_The third had black hair and wore red armour and held a long spear in his hand, along with a shield in his other. He had short spiky black hair and was quite fit. They all looked at him intently, each ready to fight._

"_Who are you and what do you want?" he asked the three, waiting for their answer._

"_Alexander…" the Beroc said, stopping there._

He woke up at that moment, seeing everyone, including those who should be on patrol at the moment. They were all looking at him, as if they were worried.

"What? Is it my turn yet?" he asked them, a cold sweat all over him.

"Are you alright, Alexander?" Edward asked, he was right next to the warrior.

"I'm fine" he lied. He didn't understand that dream; he never had dreams in the desert.

"I don't believe you" Rafiel told him, standing in a corner next to Naialah. Alexander had forgotten about the Heron's ability to sense emotion.

"You were tossing and moaning in your sleep" Aran informed the warrior, he had his spear in hand.

"Just what were you dreaming?" Micaiah asked. Seeing as though she could see the future, she didn't show it.

"Nothing, just me running" he half lied. He got off the floor of the wagon, dusting himself down. "So, where are we?"

"We're at the campsite. Pelleas, Almeda and Izuka have already set up their tent. We're expected to set up our own" Sothe told the warrior, he then crossed his arms, thinking about jobs. "Alright, group up and set up your tent"

Everyone paired up, Edward going with Nolan, Sothe with Micaiah and Iliyana, Volug, Naialah and Rafiel staying together, Aran with Laura, Zihack with Jill and Leonardo with Tsureno. As they paired up they left, leaving only Jedena and Alexander in the wagon. They both looked at each other, thinking of the idea.

"Well, lets get to work" the warrior told the ninja, walking out of the wagon.

"This ought to be fun" Jedena replied, jumping out and following him.

The campsite was an open clearing on the border of the country. The grass was untouched by any hand, Beroc or otherwise. The tents had been placed where they were meant to be set up. Walking through the area, both Alexander and Jedena were amused by some of the attempts at putting the tents up. (The most entertaining included Aran and Laura fighting over where one of the tent poles went, and also Tsureno and Leonardo putting things in just about all the wrong places, including putting the tent in one place and grouping the pegs all together in another)

When they got to their area, they found that they were in a wooded area with a lake nearby. Quite peaceful and serene with the occasional animal running by. The tent was laid out on the ground with the pieces set up in a neat order. Alexander kneeled alongside them, Jedena following his lead.

"This could be entertaining" the warrior commented, scratching his head.

"Could be worse" Jedena told him, smiling.

"Have you ever set up a tent before?"

"Once, and it was easy"

"I guess we can give it a go. Just do me a favour"

"What?"

"Don't poke me in the eye with that pole"

Jedena laughed as he said this, she was better then that…right. Alexander took the sword scabbards off, throwing them on the ground nearby. Jedena took the scroll pouch; shuriken holders and sword scabbard off and threw them nearby. The warrior looked around for a bit, seeing Rafiel, Volug and Naialah on the ground, not bothering with the tent.

The pair started setting up the tent, Alexander listening to Jedena with interest as she explained, whilst showing, how to set things up. It was all going smoothly until Alexander got poked in the eye by a pole Jedena was holding. He did moan a bit which the ninja just laughed at.

After about 5 more minutes of…entertainment, the tent was fully set up. It looked like a bog standard tent, quite small but big enough for the pair to sleep in comfortably. Alexander scratched his head as he looked at it, thinking that it was quite fun setting it up.

"That was easy" he commented, picking his swords up and putting them in the tent. "Could be fun sleeping here tonight"

"Why do you say that?" Jedena replied, following the warriors example.

"Well we don't have to go far for water and I could de a bit of hunting in the middle of the night, just like back home"

He looked over at the three Laguz, seeing them still not setting up the tent. He scratched his head, thinking that maybe they preferred sleeping on the ground. He looked at the woods, seeing Jedena do a bit of sneaking around in the woods, training herself in stealth.

He walked into the woods, standing next to the lake. He thought about the dream he had, thinking about the Beroc in particular.

"Why did he look so familiar?" he asked himself, crossing his arms. "And what was it I was running from?"

"Peek-a-boo" he heard Jedena say behind him, then getting pushed into the lake.

He hit the water with a thump, sinking into the cool water. He swam upwards, surfacing and seeing Jedena smiling, standing on the edge of the lake.

"How's the water?" She asked him. He swam over to her, smiling and planning something cunning.

"Find out yourself" he told her, grabbing her leg and pulling her in. she hit the water quite softly, sinking slightly beneath the water. When she resurfaced, se looked soaked and gasped for breath.

"You…" she started, looking quite angry.

"Quite nice isn't it" Alexander smiled. Jedena started advancing on him. "Then again I do fancy a swim"

The warrior swam as fast as he could away from the ninja, hoping to avoid a watery grave. The Ninja soaked him with water, laughing as she did so. Alexander stopped after that, looking at the girl with a cheeky smile. He dived underneath the surface, Jedena looking for him.

_Here I come, Jedena_ he thought to himself, swimming underneath her and grabbing her, lifting her up on his shoulders. He took a big breath after surfacing, both of them laughing loudly as they enjoyed themselves.

* * *

Right, that's this chapter done, the campsite is set up and next chapter is the plan and battle. And I hope I didn't go too far with the dream. I'll give you a cookie if you can tell me (In a PM!!!!!!!!! *stresses PM*) what the dream was about.

And I had to have them two having a laugh sometime.


	8. 2 stories, 3 reasons

Finally back, Just a few…set backs. I'm seeing if I can get this moving again, If not…well, I intend to finish this story, just need to get through the barrier known as 'writer's block' *shivers*

* * *

Chapter 8: Two reasons, three stories

"Hey, Guys!" Sothe shouted, the pair climbing out of the lake. "We're getting ready to move. Are you two coming or what?"

"Sure, just let us get dried off first" Alexander replied, wringing his clothes, Jedena was doing the same with her's.

"We don't have time, we move out in 5 minutes"

"Where to?" Jedena asked, getting her stuff back on. Alexander managed to shove his stuff on, adjusting the sword so they were in a comfortable spot.

"Terin" the rogue answered, flipping a dagger between his fingers. "Apparently it's the best place to attack"

"Why do I get the feeling that wasn't the first option?" Alexander asked.

"It would have been Talrega, but Izuka failed to take the weather into account"

"That mad man makes me wish we had just left him behind" the ninja told the pair, putting her gear on.

"While I agree, we can't say that to Pelleas' face"

"Look, we can moan when we're done, but for now, let's get moving." Alexander interrupted.

The trio all nodded to each other, looking quite serious as they thought about the battle ahead. They walked around the camp, seeing random soldiers taking the tents down…odd; they had only just been set up. The group was waiting near the convoy, steadily climbing in. Mcaiah looked for the trio, smiling as she saw them.

"I guess you enjoyed yourself" She told Alexander and Jedena. The pair looked confused; surely such a small event was not worth noticing. The warrior scratched his head while Jedena looked away, holding her arm. "Well, come on, the next battle awaits"

"Let's move" Alexander spoke, jumping into the wagon, the other three following suit.

The travel was quiet; no one spoke about the coming battles…everyone thought about the negative side of things. 'Will she be alright?' 'How far have we come since Nevessa?' 'How much longer until we live in a free Daein?' 'Will the food be any good there?' and so on.

5 hours on the road, the warrior stood at the edge of the wagon, watching the landscape behind him just roll away. He looked down, heavy thoughts in his mind.

_Will I survive the coming battle? _He thought, moving his head to look at the sky. _What would mother say if she saw me now?_

While he didn't normally think of his old life, he couldn't really help himself. His mother would despise him for what he's doing now. She was a Beignion loyalist, born, bred and everything in between. She believed that everything should belong to the 'noble empire' under the direct control of the Apostle and the senate. The Laguz should be a slave race to the Beroc or driven to extinction and the world should follow Ashera's laws.

"I wonder how you're doing?" he spoke, looking at the sky. "It's been 4 years since I saw you last. I just hope you've forgiven me for what I did" he looked at the skies, seeing a single cloud in the sky. "I just hope I don't talk to you with Ashera…I want to talk to you in Tellius some time before either one of us dies" the cloud started to vanish, the sun shining through it. "Just promise me…that you'll understand why I did what I did"

"Are you ok?" Edward asked him, walking over to the warrior. Alexander looked at him, seeing him holding his sword.

"I've been worse" he simply answered, moving his gaze back to the skies. "Just…memories"

"Well, cheer up and talk to us about them" Iliyana spoke, doing the same with a loaf of bread in her hand, biting into it.

"It's…complicated" he told the thunder mage, not looking at her. "Just tell me…do you two know your parents?"

The pair looked at each other, considering the question and thinking about an answer. Alexander looked at them, his face looking quite serious. He had a feeling at least one f them didn't know their parents…neither did he really.

"I knew mine" Iliyana replied, looking quite upset. "I was part of a poor family which never had enough money for food…I was an only child" she looked at the floor, tears welling up in her eye. "And then, I was supposedly a mistake to them"

"I doubt that" the warrior told her, still looking serious. "They most likely love you, but didn't know how to say it"

"I never got a chance to find out" she replied, wiping tears away with the bread loaf. "I enlisted with the old Daein army near enough after that, running away from home in Crimea" she laughed a bit, looking out of the wagon. "Turns out I made a destined choice, as I met Ike in my first battle"

"You met Lord Ike?" Edward asked, seemingly in disbelief.

"I fought along side him. Sothe should have told you that"

"Moving on" Alexander interrupted, holding his hands up. "Have you ever wanted to go back and tell them you're sorry for leaving?"

"Plenty of times, but I never got to" she looked at the floor again, frowning. "They died fighting off the very army I had enlisted for when they went across the border to Gallia"

"I'm sorry…I didn't know" Alexander spoke, closing his eyes.

"No, you didn't, so please, don't bring them up"

"Fair enough, but moving on. What about you Edward? Do you know your parents?"

"Well…yeah" the young swordsman started, putting his sword away. "My Mother is back in Nevesa, helping who she can with what she can. My father…well, he's in a labour camp"

"So you have a more personal reason for joining this war" Iliyana spoke, looking at the young swordsman.

"I have a more personal one then some people here, but I believe Nolan is here because his wife died making a stand against Beignion"

"I'm not that old Edward!" Nolan shouted, walking into the conversation. "It wasn't my wife, it was my sister"

"You lost your sister to Beignion?" Alexander asked, feeling almost ashamed at what his people had done while he had been gone.

Nolan sat down on the floor, hanging his legs out of the 'door', his axe next to him. Edward joined him, wanting to hear the story. Iliyana and Alexander stayed standing, looking across the horizon.

"It was 1 year ago in 5 days" the axmen started, looking at the sky. "We had been out in the countryside, joking about how one day we'd free Daein from the cowards of Beignion" he looked round, wondering if anyone else was around. "Her name was Marlena, she was just younger then me with long blond hair and deep blue eyes…a free spirit with the whole of her life ahead of her"

The warrior started looking like he was going to cry. Alexander knew what was coming…either something about her trying to fight off the forces of Beignion, or something about her being taken for some reason.

"It was raining that day" he continued, looking at the skies. "Which I presume it's about to. We came home after finding some food for our family, seeing the whole occupation force of our village. Our home was on fire and we dove in, trying to save our family"

"I made it back out, my father over my shoulder. I looked in, seeing Marlena trying to save our mother. The wood collapsed, blocking the entrance and trapping the pair. I pleaded with the soldiers but they…didn't do anything…my sister and mother were burnt to death, and my father died of the injuries he had already sustained"

Everyone was quiet as he finished, giving him time to recover. His eyes had tears forming, but not enough for a full blown crying session. It was as if the warrior had been through that tale enough times to let it go…something that Alexander knew he was yet to do…something he had to face once he was done in Daein. He realised he had something Iliyana and Nolan didn't have.

Family…even though it was just his mother, he had a chance to seek reconciliation for what he had done in the past.

* * *

The main reason I did this chapter is because you don't really find out Nolan and Edward's reason for joining the brigade. Iliyana wanted to get revenge for the poor meals, that's a given, but all you learn about Ed and Nol is that they were the first few members. While I would have done a battle chapter, I am not 100% sure on details.

This is just to make sure I've got the details right. The leader of Marado in Terin is Fiona, a lance cavalier wearing blue armour who cares about her people. She joins the army half way in the two part battle…right?

Anyway, I hope this is still going strong with the story. Sorry I've been gone so long…updates will slow, I have to finish 'friends in warfare' before this to keep the wave of 'momentum' going. This will be finished either before or directly after 'pathway to darkness' as this story is third published, Pathway is fourth, but it's easy to do at the moment.


	9. Crimes of Beignion

Chapter 9: the Crimes of Beignion

"We're here" Sothe told the group, jumping out just as the wagon stopped. Alexander, not anticipating the stop, fell off the back, landing face down on the floor. The rest of the Liberation army jumped out, taking up positions and looking round. The warrior lifted himself off the dirt, spitting some out as he stood up.

He looked round the area, knowing from Sothe this was an independent territory in Daein. The fields were full of fully grown crops and the villagers were walking round happily.

"Remind me why we're attacking this area" he spoke, looking round.

"This area is supposed to be free country, but due to Beignion forces, it's now used to feed their army in exchange for said freedom" Sothe answered, flipping the knife in his hand.

"So…we're here to push the oppressors out"

"Correct"

Micaiah looked round the area, seeing Beignion soldiers already massing. She held her tome tightly, running over to the ragtag army.

"Their already here" she told them, looking round. The hermit drew his blades, holding one reversed in his hand.

"Good, we'll see what damage we can do to them" he told them, walking forward. "For Daein we march"

The 'army' was split into two. Micaiah, Sothe, Edward, Tsureno, Zihack, Leonardo, Volug, Aran and Laura going one way to take on the main enemy presence, Alexander, Jedena, Rafiel, Naialah, Nolan, Jill and Iliyana taking on the reinforcements while working their way towards the villages.

"Good Luck" Micaiah spoke, her side of the army running off.

"You too" Alexander replied, looking round his side of the battle. The soldiers were looking at the ragtag army, holding their weapons firmly. "So, any idea of how we move?"

"We may as well attack them head on" Nolan replied, spinning his axe round. Alexander just shook his head.

"Why couldn't I go with Micaiah?" he groaned, looking down. "I'm no good with large armies"

"You've only commanded once, and then it was four soldiers" Iliyana told him, getting some bread out of nowhere and eating some of it. "Just give it your best shot"

The warrior sighed, looking along the horizon. Most of the enemy were standing ready for them to attack. A village was nearby…rich by the looks of things.

"I guess the first objective is that village" he told the group, looking back at them. "While I don't want to get the people of Daein involved, we may as well use it as a base"

"Well then, I guess we may as well get moving" Jill spoke, getting on her wyvern.

The group each got into individual stances, running towards the village and the soldiers around it…

Micaiah's group, running through the area with an objective in mind already, looked towards their target, seeing a mass of soldiers standing in front of a gate. Sothe looked at Micaiah, worry in his eye.

"Are you sure about leaving him with them?" he asked the maiden, keeping along side.

"He has good intentions, and I haven't seen anything bad about him" she replied, seeing some pegasi riders coming over the hill. "He'll do fine. Leonardo!"

"I see them!" The archer replied, notching an arrow and firing it at the airborne warriors. He missed with two shots, hitting one with the third. He fell off his mount, hitting the ground hard with an arrow in his chest.

The group took defensive positions, Tsureno and Aran getting their javelins out and throwing them at the riders. Micaiah used her spells and hit one of the riders. The others, excluding Laura, took positions in order to protect the fighters when the pegasi got close enough.

Over with Alexander…

"Ready?" he spoke, looking at the enemy.

"Ready" the rest replied, getting ready for battle.

"Let's go" he told them, leading the charge into battle.

The group ran (And, in Jill's case, flew) towards the enemy, Iliyana getting her spells ready and Naialah transforming into her wolf form. The Beignion soldiers responding by scrambling out of the village, some of them keeping back just in case.

Jedena threw a few shuriken at the soldiers, hitting three in the head. Nolan ran at his foe, a lance wielder. He swung his axe round, missing on the first strike. His enemy tried to counter, swinging his lance round. Nolan rolled backwards out of the way, swinging his axe round again and hitting the poor guy's head.

Alexander focused on his foe, seeing the odd lightning strike and axe fly by. He could hear everyone around him grunt as they fought their best. The warrior's foe was a sword user who seemed quite experienced by the way he swung his blade round. The warriors hit each others' blades, Alexander holding both of his blades firm.

"I'm not losing that easy" he told his foe, kicking his foe. The soldier dodged it, rolling to the side. He got back up, slashing at the hermit. "Nice try" the warrior told him, moving a blade to block.

"In Ashera's name, fall by my blade" the soldier replied, moving his blade round and aiming another shot. The warrior responded by moving his more offensive arm around, blocking with the blade and 'locking' the opponent's sword with the other blade.

The battle went on for a while and attracted the attention of some bandits. One of them wore ripped leather and held a black axe with some notches cut out of it and some sand in his boots.

"Hey boss, that's the richest village in this area" one of them told his boss, holding his axe upright.

"That ought to be an easy target" the head bandit told his henchman. He looked around, seeing Alexander fighting off the swordsman. "Not him again" he put his axe down, kneeling to get a better look.

"You know him boss?" the same bandit asked, looking at the swordsman.

"Alexander…what are you doing around here?" Lucius asked himself, getting a bow ready. "Head towards the village, I'll take on the group"

"Wouldn't it be better the other way round boss?" another bandit asked, looking at the village. "I'm sure we can take on such a small bunch"

"I'll hold them, get moving!"

The bandits looked surprised, running with their axes towards the village. Lucius notched an arrow, aiming at his nemesis

"This time…you won't be lucky"

Alexander rolled along the ground, avoiding another slash from his opponent. He moved back in, hitting his opponent's weapon they were stuck in a dead lock, trying to force each other back.

"Just surrender and we won't hurt you" Alexander told his opponent, walking round so the village was at his back.

"Why surrender to the liberation dogs? Beignion has supremacy" the swordsman replied, smiling.

"I wouldn't be so sure"

He jumped back, holding his blades out in his, now, outstretched arms. The soldier braced for an attack.

"In Ashera's name!" he shouted, charging at the swordsman, spinning round and hitting him three times. The soldier flew upwards, landing on the ground with three deep gashes in him. Alexander turned to look at him, seeing him dead on the ground, blood pouring out of him.

"Looks like I was right" he spoke, walking over to his fallen foe, the others finishing off what was left of the attack force. "Everyone alright?"

"We're alright" Jedena answered, smiling. Everyone nodded in agreement. The warrior walked towards the village, his ears pricking up as he heard a bow being fired.

He felt a sting in his foot as the arrow impacted there. He groaned in pain, kneeling down and dropping his blades, holding his foot with multiple curses being spoken. Jedena ran over to him, making sure he was alright.

Alexander failed to answer, seeing bandits running into the village. The soldiers didn't do anything about them, leaving them to do what they did best…pillaging.

"No!" he shouted, grabbing the arrow and pulling it out, cursing as he did so. He grabbed his blades, running towards the village, despite the pain. The group followed him, wondering what he was doing.

When Alexander got into the village, what he saw him was sickening. The soldiers were doing nothing but running around, obviously suffering a morale crisis. The bandits ran out of the village, leaving it alight with the people dead. The warrior cursed again as he realised he could have stopped it if it wasn't for the fight.

"How could my countrymen do this?" he asked himself, ashamed to call himself a Beroc of Beignion. Nolan walked around, memories flashing through his mind.

"How could Beignion allow such a thing to happen it Daein subjects?" He asked, slamming his axe into the ground in anger. "How can anyone want this to happen to another creature?"

"Nolan…Alexander…we have to get moving" Iliyana interrupted the pair, walking in front of them. "We have to stop this from happening again"

"I know, Iliyana" Alexander replied, looking at the axe man. "This just makes me more determined to free Daein"

He walked over to Nolan, putting his hand on his shoulder. The warrior, still in his rage, punched him in the face, turning round and holding his axe over his shoulder. The group started to run over to him, Alexander simply putting his hand out to stop them.

"Nolan" he spoke, moving back to look at him from his position. "I'm not to blame for this. Take it out on Beignion's forces"

The warrior breathed heavily, looking at the 'hermit'. He calmed down, seeing Alexander's nose bleeding.

"We'd better go find them then" Nolan told the group, running off with his axe in hand. The group ran after him, hoping to stop him doing anything stupid.

* * *

I know there isn't anything like this in the game, but this is just to develop a character. Alright. The battle has begun, Micaiah's group are fighting and I think the battle has gone well.

Lucius will be around for a while longer, he's Alexander's nemesis so…I think he'll be killed off at the end of 'part one' and the next chapter explains the bow and axe…He's NOT going to be the 'black bandit'…or should he be?


	10. round one

Chapter 10: Round one

"Ilaman selon, tilmaren" Micaiah chanted, bringing a light bolt down on a pegsi knight. Somehow, either some form of godly air or skill, the knight survived, clutching his shield arm.

"You'll pay for that, witch!" the knight shouted, bringing his mount down and aiming for the Maiden amid the fighting.

"For Daein!" Sothe shouted, running at a right angle to the pegesi, jumping forward and going over the mount. He landed with his dagger held in front of him, his cape trailing behind him. The rider fell off his mount, a 2 deep cuts in his chest. "No one threatens Micaiah and survives"

Leonardo and Tsureno wee standing back to back, the knight throwing javelins at the enemy as the archer shot at them. Both were steadily running out of ammo, both getting ready to fight with whatever they could. Edward stood back to back with Zihack, the swordsmen slashing away at the enemy as they advanced on them. Occasionally, Zihack would use Edward for a combat manoeuvre, pulling off a blade dance which Edward would try to copy, at times succeeding. Aran stood guarding Laura, the soldier knowing his duty in his battle. He ran towards a heavily armour Knight wielding a sword, the soldier attacking the warrior with everything he had.

"We can't hold them forever" Micaiah admitted, stepping out of the way of an axe attack. Sothe throwing a knife at the fighter.

"What else can we do? Alexander and company can't see us and we can't send the request for reinforcements" Sothe replied, throwing a few more knives. Volug ran up to the pair, his body covered in blood he barked something, Micaiah seeming to understand.

"Volug, go and fetch the secondary force, they can help turn the tide of this battle" the silver haired maiden ordered the Laguz. Volug barked again, running off towards Alexander's group's last objective.

"Sothe! A little help over her…AAA!" Aran shouted, getting hit by an axe. Laura gasped as her friend had been hit. She stepped forward, staff in hand.

"Stay back!" Aran ordered the cleric, Laura stopping as the soldier blocked a second blow. "Don't give them an opening!"

"Sorry…" Laura replied, looking round. "Sothe, Help"

"Coming!" the rogue replied, running over to Aran with his blade in hand. Micaiah moved to help Leonardo and Tsureno, her book close to breaking.

"We need fresh supplies" she admitted, looking at the enemy. "Be swift, Alexander"

"So now where do we go?" Iliyana asked, holding her lightning book in front of her.

"I guess we move to the Daein Soldiers" Alexander replied, the burning remains of the village behind the group. "Besides, Nolan needs something to take his anger out on"

The axe man was busy hacking away at a tree, taking as many heavy swings as he could at it. The memories of the past haunted him as he saw the flames.

"Why couldn't I save them?" he asked himself, taking a good shot at the tree's branches. "Why did I fail again?" he took a shot at the trunk, getting half way through it. "Why couldn't I save her back then?" he took a third shot, this one clearing the tree.

"Remind me never to get on his bad side" Alexander told the group, everyone nodding.

"What's that?" Rafiel asked. Everyone turned and saw a wolf running towards them "Volug?"

"What's he doing here? He's meant to be protecting Micaiah" Jill asked. she made her wyvern land for the purposes of resting.

The wolf ran over to Alexander, looking at him with his blood red eyes. The warrior knelt down to the wolf's level, wondering what he had to say. When he got a series of barks, howls and grunts in response, he didn't know what to say. He looked at Rafiel, confused.

"He says 'Micaiah has need of this group, follow him and he can lead us to her'" he translated, the heron looking at him like he should have known that.

"What's your problem?" Alexander asked, starting to walk over to the heron.

He was stopped about halfway by an arrow hitting the ground. He looked at it, seeing that it oddly resembled the one that had hit him earlier. He got his swords out, expecting an attack, Nolan alongside him.

"Get going, we'll take care of these guys" he told the group, looking back at them.

"Are you sure about this, Alexander" Jedena asked, looking concerned.

"Relax, Nolan's like a berserker at the moment, and Micaiah needs help more then I do" Alexander told her, smiling. "Besides, I have to come back, how else would I explore Tellius after this war?"

"You better be back"

The group ran off to help Micaiah and company, leaving Nolan and Alexander to fight off whatever might come and fight them. The hermit looked at Nolan, seeing him nearly foaming at the mouth. He shook his head, hearing footsteps nearby.

"I didn't think I'd see you here" a voice spoke to him, two figures appearing, shown as shadows by the sun being in the pair's eyes. "You've been quite the pest"

"Who are you and what do you want?" Alexander asked, getting into a defensive stance.

"Looks like he doesn't recognise you boss" another, broken voice replied.

"Aye, it does, but where does that leave our little encounter"

The pair became visible as the light dimmed. The hermit was shocked as he recognised one as Lucius, except this time armed with a bow and an axe. The other one was a standard mercenary, holding a large sword over his shoulder. He had green short hair and, at his side, a brown lance. He wore blue plate armour.

"Lucius?" Alexander asked, surprised. "What are you doing back?"

"On contract with Beignion alongside Matea here" Lucius replied, smiling evilly.

"Why has your voice and, I presume, wording changed?"

"I got trained by Beignion before I got the contract, so that explains the bow as well. I ended up learning a hell of a lot more then weapon skills"

"So why are you after me?"

"Personal issues"

"Boss, can I? Please, can I?" Matea asked, he was acting like a little school girl.

"Sure, dig into that axe guy, maybe you can show me your skills"

The mercenary punched the air, running forward towards Nolan. The Axman responded, holding his axe firmly. Both men were yelling as they charged. When they collided, they brought their weapons to bear, sparks flying from them.

"For Daein!" Nolan shouted, pushing his opponent back.

"For Beignion!" Matea shouted back, starting to resist the push. They both kicked at each other, Nolan hitting first and knocking Matea back.

"Daein!" he span round, his axe low and aiming for his opponent's knees.

"Beignion!" the swordsman jumped the axe, spinning in the air to counter. Nolan rolled back, dodging the sword and following up with an uppercut.

He hit Matea in the arm, the Mercenary stepping back to examine the wound.

"Gah…I'll get you for this!" he told Nolan, running off with his sword still over his shoulder. Lucius watched as his comrade ran off, shaking his head.

"Do I have to do everything myself?" he moaned, getting his black axe off his back. "Alexander, Let's go"

"Gladly!" the hermit replied, both men running at each other. Nolan ran off to join the rest of the Liberation army.

The two warriors clashed, weapons held firmly against each other. Alexander could feel the power behind the bandit's blow, but he had power himself. He looked at his opponent, his brown orbs looking into the blue ones of Lucius.

"You have gotten stronger, I'll give you that" he told the bandit. He then forced the axe back, spinning round to try and hit the warrior.

"You too it seems" Lucius replied, moving his axe to block the swords. "But I'm better"

"Really" he moved a blade out to strike high. "Last I checked, I had beaten all your bandit attacks save one"

"Yeah, that's true" he moved to the right, avoiding the sword. "But still we fight it seems"

"Lucius, take a shortcut" the warrior Kicked off Lucus, taking a few steps back. "Join the Liberation army. With you I'm sure no one could beat it"

"Sorry, but I'm not one for virtue" the bandit quickly dropped his axe, reading an arrow and his bow and firing at Alexander. "And I have done too much in the past"

"And…AHH!" the arrow hit the hermit on his shoulder. the warrior dropping a blade. "And? Everyone has done something bad in the past. No one is a paragon of virtue"

"True, but trust me, you don't want me on your team"

"Why would that be then?" he pulled the arrow out and picked the blade back up.

"I'll tell you in the afterlife…or our next battle, which ever is sooner"

"Can't wait for that then, but for now"

Alexander charged his opponent again, Lucius putting his bow on his back and picking his axe back up, running towards Alexander afterwards. Both men running towards each other, weapons held ready. They shouted before swinging their weapons at each other, both finishing behind each other, Alexander standing low to Lucius standing high.

An eternity seemed to span the time this started to the time it ended. Alexander yelling in pain as his leg was cut open, Lucius standing silently as a wound appeared in his side.

"Ok…you're definitely…good" Alexander conceded, dropping his swords and applying the Vulnary to the wounds, the magic taking effect as the wounds closed.

"As are you" Lucius replied, doing the same as Alexander. "Truce for now?"

"Deal, but what do we do?"

"I'll leave this battlefield, you go save you're friends. We'll meet again an some other battlefield"

"True, and this has been fun"

"Well then" Lucius started putting his stuff away, walking off the battlefield past Alexander. "Till we meet again"

"Till we meet again" Alexander replied, running to where he thought Micaiah's group were.


	11. Valiant lady of Marado

Right, let's see if I can keep this going.  
Short one to keep things in.

Chapter 11: Valliant lady of Marado

In a house near the battle, a young woman wearing blue armour looked out the window. She held a lance at her side, gripping it tightly. Another woman came from another room, bringing a few drinks.

"Refreshment my lady?" she asked, bowing to the woman. The blue wearing woman looked at the drinks, grabbing one and taking a quick drink.

"Thank you, Silmei" she replied, looking out of the window again. "Tell me, what should I, the leader of this province do?"

"Lady Fiona, that is something only you can answer" Silmei put the drinks on a nearby table, joining Fiona at the window. "If you join the Liberation Army, then you can redeem your family for the last war but endanger Marado to Beignion"

"And if I join Beignion?"

"You fight other Daein people in a war I believe you believe in, in a bid to keep your people safe, but have no chance at redeeming yourself for the last war"

"I see what you mean"

"it is up to you my lady, either save your own people from brutal oppressors, or join the holy empire in hopes of victory"

Fiona kept staring out of the window as she considered the options, then walking around and gathering her war equipment…

"MICAIAH!" Sothe shouted, deftly throwing a dagger over the priestess's shoulder into an enemy soldier.

"Thanks Sothe" Micaiah replied, looking at Aran and Laura. The cleric healing the soldier quickly. She surveyed the field, seeing not many soldiers left. "There doesn't seem to be many soldiers left here"

"We've been fighting valiantly" Leonardo told her, walking over to her, firing a quick arrow at a soldier attacking Laura. "I think Alexander and Company should get here just in time for our victory"

As Edward and Zihack dispatched the last soldier standing, everyone formed around Micaiah, swapping weapons, spells and ammo for the next battle. They looked ahead, seeing an unmanned gate.

"Sorry we're Late!" Nolan shouted, appearing over the horizon with the rest of the group, bar Alexander. They ran over to the other group, standing next to them. "How'd it go?"

"I thought we needed help, but turns out we didn't" Sothe told them, flicking his dagger around in his hand.

"Wait, where's Alexander?" Micaiah asked.

"Over here!" the hermit shouted, running from the same place. "Just handling the rear guard"

"Well, Looks like we're all here" the rogue commented, smiling. "Shall we get moving?"

The group moved ahead towards the gate, the first capture objective in the battle. The second being the bridge up ahead and the final objective all together is the routing of the Beignion troops. They walked through the gate, seeing several Beignion archers, cavaliers and mages ready to attack them. A smartly suited knight was at the centre of them. The liberation troops surrounding the ranged combat troops.

"Well, look what we have here" the knight told them, smiling. "The liberation army has walked right into our trap" the liberation army held their weapons tightly. "And now we can finish them and the Silver haired witch at the same time"

"I don't think so!" Sothe shouted. Alexander watched the enemy, seeing a blue armoured knight riding through the enemy ranks. "We've beaten bigger then this!"

"Oh really, look around you!" the knight ordered him, which everyone did. "Archers and Mages wherever you look, and cavaliers to back them up. I doubt you'll beat them at all"

The blue armoured knight stopped next to said knight, holding a lance in his hands…well, Alexander presumed it was a he. The normal knight stepped back to let his men do what they would do best. The small group holding their weapons ready to defend against the weapons.

"STOP!" the blue Knight shouted, the assault party stopping to look at the knight. She took her helmet off and revealed herself.

"Fiona?" Tsureno asked, recognising the knight.

"In the Name of Daein, I command the loyal soldiers to follow MY commands!"

A few of the cavaliers rode over to her, holding their lances firm. The Dawn brigade all smiled as they realised the numbers had evened. The knight rode over to them, looking quite concerned.

"I am Fiona, governor of Marado and daughter of one of the four riders" she introduced herself, doing a small bow.

"I am Micaiah, leader of this army and here to save Daein" the maiden replied, looking at Fiona with trusting eyes.

"My little unit will take care of the archers, just rout the enemy leader and Marado will be free"

"You heard her, people" Sothe started, stepping forward. The allied cavalry had already started cutting down the archers. "Let's move"

* * *

I would like to thank blue orbi angel for…persuading me to keep going. Once this gets by part one of the game, I expect to do better at writing these up…I might have Alexander pulling out for a bit for some reason…would that make sense in the story if he had to do something important? Answer in review please.


	12. so much for 'holy'

Chapter 12: So much for 'holy'

The battle for Marado

The small group of Maradon knights that had mutinied were riding through the enemies lines in order to keep the people safe. They were helping to carry 5 civilians to safety, as the, so called, 'Holy' soldiers of Beignion had threatened their lives. Each one was following their leader. Micaiah saw them, looking concerned as she looked around the group.

"We need to keep them safe" she told the group, looking around. "Split up and take on the enemy"

"Ballista!" Aran shouted, running behind Micaiah, holding his shield up. A bolt hit it, the soldier looking more serious.

"What on Tellius?" Sothe asked, looking round and seeing the weapon. "Looks like Beignion has gotten serious"

"Who cares what they throw at us? We'll just keep knocking them back" Alexander told him, flipping a sword around in his left hand. "Besides…I think I have the biggest reason to be angry here"

"I'll go and help the Knights, Zihack, Nolan, Laura, Aran, Iliyana, Leonardo, you're with me. The rest of you, head west and take on the enemy!" the aforementioned warriors followed Sothe as he ran off. Alexander watched them, scratching the back of his head.

"Who made Sothe tactician?" he asked, looking annoyed.

"Self appointed" Edward told him, smiling. "Besides, he has the most experience in these things"

"Good point"

"Look, either way, we have to win here to free Marado, so let's not let them down"

"I guess I'll break the plan and go and help Sothe" Jedena told them, running after the rogue, somehow disappearing.

The rest of the group went west, heading towards a bridge. Several Beignion soldiers on the other side. Micaiah spoke in her ancient language, throwing a light bolt towards an enemy. The soldier, armed and armoured as a bog standard soldier, held his shield to block it. Succeeding but then failing to notice Lance next to him as Tsureno, somehow being extremely speedy in his bulky white armour, came up beside him and shoved the pole arm into the soldier's Chest, the silver lance showing on the other side, now stained crimson.

As for the others, they ran past, seeing another selection of soldiers to fight. Alexander took the lead, his blades shining in the sun as he ran towards another swordsman. Jill flew above, occasionally throwing axes down. One of the soldiers, being a smart but annoying warrior, dodged most of the axes, and the ones that did hit only did minor damage at best. He had a sword in his hand, steadily working his way over to the twin swordsman.

"For Beignion!" he shouted, jumping forward and bringing his sword down. The warrior only just managed to bring his swords up to block, the blades colliding with a loud clang.

"For Daein and the liberation army!" Alexander shouted back, kicking the soldier back. The swordsman felt the boot hit his chest, falling back with his sword still held high. The axes were still raining around them.

Volug and Naialah, in their wolf forms, charged towards a few swordsmen, their claws ready to rend flesh. Every so often, the wolf pair would dart about each other into an enemy. Their claws getting stained in blood and the soldiers getting claw marks in their chests. The wolf queen howled after the 5th kill, her servant doing the same after the 6th.

Sothe threw a knife at some pursuing Soldiers, hitting one of them in the face. He watched as the cavaliers crossed the bridge, smiling as the group moved into a defensive position in front of it. The numbers of the enemy had dwindled, taking a defensive formation around their leader. An armoured cavalier barking orders at his men, swinging his spear around.

"Time to move!" he shouted, running forward and swinging at some soldiers. Iliyana threw some lightning bolts at them whilst the others did what they could.

Edward swung his blade low, taking the legs of an axman out from beneath him. The soldier fell backwards, the swordsman dealing the final blow as he stabbed him. The swordsman turned round quickly, seeing a cavalier spinning a lace in the air as he rode towards the swordsman.

"What?" he asked. He froze to the spot, his experience in battle showing as fear took him. Alexander saw this, blocking a Halberdier's lance and kicking back.

"Edward, MOVE!" he shouted, seeing the swordsman spinning his sword in his hand. He stared down the cavalier in a futile game of some kind. "MOVE!" the swordsman still held his ground. Alexander threw one of his blades up in the air, grabbing the halberdier's lance and pulling it towards him. He punched him in the face a few times before the sword fell. The warrior caught it, stabbing the halberdier in the chest.

"For Daein" he spoke, pulling the sword out. The halberdier fell to the ground, blood oozing out of him. He turned towards Edward, seeing the lancer holding his lance low, Edward holding his sword high in some kind of bravado. "MOVE!"

The ex-hermit charged towards Edward, running in between battles. The horseman was close to Edward, the swordsman still not moving. "THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD EDWARD!" he shouted, jumping up and kicking Edward down, the lance narrowly missing the youth's head, even more so to the hermit's feet. They both hit the floor, Alexander rolling out of the horse's way.

"What are you doing?!" Edward shouted, standing up quickly and looking at Alexander in anger.

"Saving your backside, be thankful!" Alexander shouted back, jumping up and looking at the lancer, watching him turn around to face the pair. "You had the wrong stance for the weapon you were using and you're against a more mobile opponent than you!"

"I could have taken him!"

"Never take a cavalier on from the front if they are charging!"

"I could have taken him!"

"NEVER TAKE ON A CAVALIER FROM THE FRONT IF THEY ARE CHARGING AT YOU!" he kept his eye on the soldier, putting one sword away. "At your skill level, you can't do much against them without a lancereaver. But at mine, I can do things like this"

The cavalier charged towards him, the warrior smiling. When the horse was close enough, he grabbed the reins, letting himself get dragged along the ground. The soldier smiled as he saw his target, trying to hit him with the lance. Alexander used all of his strength to pull himself up, swinging his feet up to kick the soldier off as he took the saddle. The soldier hit the ground hard, his lance getting stuck in the ground as he kept on going. Alexander jumped off, bringing his sword down upon the fallen solder, letting the horse keep on going.

"And thus you take on a horseman" he told Edward, smiling as he drew his other sword.

"Ok, I get it, get more skilled before big moves" Edward replied, swinging his sword at a swordsman.

"Exactly, now let's get moving" the ex-hermit looked around, seeing the rest of the group were finished as well, with a few cuts and wounds around them. The worst was with Volug with a cut on his back.

"Sothe has finished up for us" Micaiah told him, walking near Volug, a cut on the back of her nearly breaking her glove. "Leverton is dead. Marado is free"

"Well, that saves us time I guess" he span his blades around, putting them into his sheathes. "At least we have some territory from Beignion now"

"We can use this for a base, and advance out from here" Tsureno told him, Jill nodding as she landed next to him.

"Whatever happens, let's make sure that no one else suffers like these guys have" Alexander told them, putting a hand on his chest. "For the people of Daein, we must keep fighting"

* * *

Another chapter down…hurray?... come on, someone cheer…make me happy…review and rate and what not… I'll be your friend…come on…please.


	13. the mysterious mark

Small support convo to update things. Now I know where I am with this story. Next up is the prison camp with tormod and his Laguz companions who have been sent by Saniki to see what's going on…right?

Chapter 13:

The Mysterious mark

"You're going down, Sothe!"

"Just try it, Alexander!"

You can probably guess what was going on: a small fight started between the pair for training in a new base set up in Marado. Both of them using wooden weapons so to avoid injuring the other too badly. As far as the fight was going, Sothe was winning 5-4…that's 5 wins with 4 dodges, not 4 wins to Alexander. The hermit was on 2-1, doing his best to actually hit the rogue.

"Just give up already" Sothe taunted, hitting Alexander on the chest with his wooden dagger. Another win to him.

"Never" Alexander replied, enjoying himself too much to bother with giving up. "We both need training do we not?"

"You do realise your talking to a veteran of the war, right?"

"Yes, and I wish to quiz you on that"

"This should be good" Alexander span round, trying to sweep Sothe's feet from under him. The rogue jumped up to dodge the pair.

"According to some civilians, you didn't fight much, just the odd battle here and there"

"And?" the thief landed deftly, flipping away from Alexander to avoid another attack.

"You didn't happen…" the hermit felt his blades hit the ground, groaning and looking at Sothe. "To find out why the war started did you?"

"Something to do with the fire emblem"

"Fire emblem?" the hermit asked, sweeping his blades under Sothe quickly in an effort to catch him off. Sothe anticipated this, moving his dagger to block the pair. "What's that?"

"Nothing to be concerned about"

"Why?"

"We stopped Ashnard before he could do anything"

"That was lucky I guess"

The pair continued to swing their weapons around, hoping to break the other's guard. The loud crack of wood could be heard around them as the weapons collided. As Alexander swung round, Sothe aimed his dagger wrongly, hitting the strap on the back of the glove on the hermit's right hand. Before the desert dweller knew what was going on, his glove flew off towards a wall, also the pair locking swords in a deadlock.

"Nice aim, Sothe" Alexander sarcastically commented, not looking at his hand.

"At least my skill is…good?" Sothe retorted. Seeing the mark on the back of the warrior's hand. "What the heck is that?" Alexander looked at his left hand, pushing off of Sothe to get a better look.

"A birth mark" Alexander lied, he didn't know what it was.

"That's no birthmark"

"Yes it is" he walked over to his glove, putting his swords away and putting it on. "And it's nothing much"

"'It's nothing much'? Alex, it looks like you got burned with a lot of fire when you were young, THAT'S how much it is"

"Really?"

"Of course"

"Sothe, I've lived with it for YEARS, that's how much it means to me"

"Sothe, Alexander, What's going on?"

The pair stopped talking, turning towards the voice, seeing the heron, Rafiel, entering the room. Alexander turned away, throwing one of his swords up and catching it several times. Sothe walked over to the prince, putting his dagger away.

"Our 'hermit' friend has a mark on his hand" Sothe told the heron. Rafiel looked at him in surprise.

"A 'mark'?" Sothe nodded. "What kind of mark?"

"It's not worth showing" Alexander told the heron, not wanting to make a big deal out of a small thing.

"Let me have a look" the prince requested. At that moment, the wolf laguz pair walked in, leaning watching the prince intently.

"It's nothing worth looking at, fair heron" the prince kept on walking towards him.

"Show me and I'll tell you if it is or not"

Alxander sighed, not wanting this to devolve into an argument. He let his blades drop to the ground, unstrapping and taking off his left glove. He held it out for the prince to look at, Naiahlah and Volug looking a lot more hostile towards the warrior now. The heron prince took light grasp of the warrior's hand

"What?" he asked, looking over at them, his real swords in there sheathes at his sides. Rafiel looked shocked as he looked at the mark.

"You're…one of them?" he asked, looking at the hermit.

"Huh?"

"You are one of them?" the prince let go of the hand.

"That entirely depends on who you mean by 'them'" a witty, clever retort to the hermit, a shock to everyone else laguz.

"I thought there was something off about you" Naiahlah told the warrior, Volug growling at her side.

"What are you two on about?"

"You're a branded, aren't you?" Rafiel asked.

"No"

"Any Laguz parents?"

"No"

"Bloodline?"

"No…and why the questions?"

Rafiel paced the room, the two wolf Laguz moving between him and Alexander. Sothe just stood where he was, looking bemused.

"What is it Rafiel?" he asked the heron. Rafiel thought over the answer before speaking again.

"That is the Brand" he told the rogue. Alexander raised an eyebrow.

"Brand?" he asked, looking at the group. "What's a Brand?"

"A mark that shows you is a branded. A crossbred between Laguz and Beroc" Sothe told him, the wolf Laguz both growled at him.

"But my parents… my father served in the Beignion military, my mother was a Mage, both Beroc"

"But nothing else can explain the mark on your hand"

"But I know I'm not a Branded"

"I'm afraid the evidence is against you right now, my friend"

"Well…think what you want…just don't bother me until the next attack is about to start"

The warrior threw the wooden weapons down and stomped out of the room, passing Edward and Leonardo as he did so. The pair looked at Sothe as they entered the room.

"Did something happen?" Leonardo asked.


End file.
